Trotline hook controller



Oct. 30, 1962 H LOWRY TROTLINE HOOK CONTROLLER Filed April 10, 1961 United States This invention relates to a device useful in fishing and more particularly it relates to a trotline hook holder and dispenser or more simply stated a trotline hook controller.

The desirability of an efficient trotline hook controller will be readily apparent to all fishermen who have used trotlines and various devices have been proposed to accomplish the desired results. None of these proposed controllers, to the best of my knowledge, however, have been entirely satisfactory. Generally stated, the trotline hook controllers of the prior art have comprised a tubular member within which the fish hook supporting rod is positioned. As heretofore constructed the resulting holder is rather complicated consequently relatively expensive to manufacture. Furthermore the hook supporting rod has in general been limited to a free movement in one plane only thus interfering with the ease with which the hooks are dispensed therefrom and also making it more diflicult to insert the hooks in the hook controller.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a trotline hook controller which obviates the disadvantages of the prior art trotline hook controllers.

It is another object of my invention to provide a trotline hook controller that is readily portable.

It is another object of this invention to provide a trotline hook controller that is highly elficient for the intended purpose.

It is another object of my invention to provide a trotline hook controller that is simple and can be manuf actured economically.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the following description and the annexed drawings in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the trotline hook controller with portions thereof broken away showing a plurality of hooks mounted on the supporting rod and the line partly wound on the exterior of the controller;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the hook supporting rod; and,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View showing the operation of the controller in automatically releasing the hooks as it is moved away from a point to which one end of the trotline is anchored.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIGURE 1, reference character 1 denotes a slotted tubular member, having an open end 14 and the other end thereof is fitted with plug 3 forming a closed end, for retaining a plurality of hooks attached to a trotline and for automatically delivering the same when setting the line. Plug 3 is frictionally retained in tubular member 1 by means of the spring 5. Other means, of course,

atent uncut portion of tubular member 1 should be of sufiicient length to provide support to the curved portion 4 of rod 15. Another requirement of a proper length for the uncut portion is that it should be of sufficient length to provide adequate length for winding excess trotline thereon. As a rule the length of the slot is about three fourths the length of tubular member 1. It should be understood, however, that the length of the slot may vary from 60 to percent of the length of tubular member 1.

Mounted within tubular member 1 is an elongated hook supporting rod 15 which is frictionally held therein. A mandatory requirement of rod 15 is that it be constructed of a material which is resilient. As illustrated in FIGURE 3 one end of rod 15 terminates in loop 4. The dimensions of this loop are such that the closed end thereof is of a size that will fit snugly within tubular member 1. The open end of loop 4 is slightly larger than the closed end. This insures that when rod 15 is inserted in tubular member 1 it will be firmly held there in by friction. Rod 15 is angulated at the point designated by the numeral 13. The angle so formed is rela' tively slight varying from 3 to 10 degrees from the horizontal. Preferably this angle should vary from 4 to 6 degrees and even more preferably from 4 to 5 degrees. The purpose of the angulation at point 13 is to insure that rod 15 when inserted within tubular member 1 will be resiliently held against the inner surface thereof. The exact location of angulation point 13 is not critical except that it should be somewhat closer to that end of rod 15 containing loop 4 than the end containing loop 2. A convenient location of 13 because such a position will give excellent results is to locate it so that the distance from 13 to the end of rod 15 containing loop 2 is about twice the distance from 13 to the other end. Rod 15 is so positioned within tubular member 1 that the hook supporting portion thereof is opposite slot 11. The opposite end of rod 15 which extends beyond the open end 14 of tubular member 1 is provided with a loop 2. This loop is smaller than loop 4 and it has a multiplicity of uses. It may be used for hanging the controller up for drying while the same is either empty or containing the trotline. The rounded surface presents no sharp projections thus it serves as a safety device. One end of a line may be attached to it and the other end of the line secured to a boat or other item or object thus insuring that the controller will not be lost if dropped in the water.

When there are no books mounted on rod 15 substantially the entire upper surface of rod 15 is in contact with inner wall of tubular member 1. On the other hand when a normal number of hooks are mounted on rod 15 the end of rod 15 near loop 2 is in contact with tubular member 1. This is shown in FIGURE 1. I have found that this feature aids in inserting hooks in the controller as the end of rod 15 adjacent loop 2 is free to move in either a vertical or horizontal plane. For the same reason the dispensing of the hooks is facilitated thereby. Even though the end of rod 15 near loop 2 moves away from the inner surface of tubular member 1 when a large number of hooks are mounted thereon, the center of gravity of the controller is far from the center of tubular member 1. This feature means that the controller is not susceptible to free rolling.

Suitable materials for the construction of the trotline Patented Oct. 30, 19 62 hook controller are those which would ideally combine resistance to corrosion, strength, lightness, economy and in the case of the rod 15 elasticity. Somewhat more specifically tubular member 1 may be constructed of steel if plated or coated with a suitable material to resist corrosion. Other suitable materials include: stainless steel, aluminum, aluminum alloys or other metals or alloys which resist corrosion. Under some conditions I may construct tubular member 1 from a plastic such as Fiberglas. Generally, I prefer chromium plated brass pipe. Such pipe is available commercially from plumbing supply companies.

As to the hook supporting rod that should be constructed of a material that, as pointed out above, possesses elasticity or resiliency. Suitable materials include stainless steel, steel plated or coated with a suitable material which resists corrosion, brass or other corrosion resistant alloy or even Fiberglas. Generally I prefer Steel that is coated with cadmium or chromium. Steel possesses great strength and elasticity and when it is properly coated is highly resistant to corrosion. When such a material is used in forming the rod the rod can be highly polished which facilitates the movement of the hooks upon it.

In passing I wish to point out that generally, for the most satisfactory results, a rather hard material should be selected for both the tubular member 1 and hook supporting rod 15. When a hard material is used for constructing these items and particularly when the surfaces contacting the fish hook are polished, the hooks slide freely with no tendency to bite.

As is well known, a trotline 9 has a plurality of fishhooks 6 secured thereto by leaders 16 at spaced intervals throughout the length thereof and considerable difficulty has been experienced in such a line without tangling the line and hooks carried thereby. By mounting the hooks within the tubular member 1 on rod 15, the books may be supported in their proper relation and all danger of the hooks or line becoming entangled is obviated. As will be pointed out later the use of the controller facilitates the setting of the line.

Although rod 15 is resiliently held against the inner surface of tubular member 1 opposite slot 11, end 2 of rod 15 may be moved in either a horizontal or a vertical plane. This factor coupled with the flanged opening of slot 11 at open end 14 facilitates the insertion of the fish hooks in the controller. As illustrated the curved portion of the hook engages rod 15. This disposes the lower or shank portion of the hook in alignment with longitudinal slot 11 whereby when the hook is moved inwardly the shank enters the slot. In this manner, the curved portion of the hook is riding or sliding along the top of support rod 15 while the shank of the hook is guided by the slot 11. Thus, the hook is maintained in substantially an upright position and its movement along rod 15 is made easy and whereby hanging up of the hook, due to its turning on the support, is impossible.

The slot 11 is relatively narrow being only sufficiently wide to permit free movement of the hook shanks therethrough. To facilitate the movement of the hooks both rod 15 and the inner surfaces of slot 11 are highly polished. Since the hooks 6 are positively guided at their shanks as well as at their curved portions, movement of the hooks along the support is smooth and there is no tendency of the hooks becoming entangled with each other or with the line.

When all the hooks of the trotline are positioned on rod 15 one of the free ends of the trotline 9 is secured to the tubular member near the open end thereof by means of a claw hitch or double half hitch 10 or other suitable knot. The other free end of trotline 9 is secured to tubular member 1 near the rear portion thereof by use of a similar knot 12. For carrying purposes knot 10 is drawn taut and in close proximity to the hooks. This serves to hold the hooks in a fixed position in respect to the controller.

When the controller is ready for use the knot 10 is untied and that end of the trotline is secured to a stake or other fixed object. When the controller is moved away from the stake or other fixed object to which the end of the trotline is secured the hooks which have been housed within tubular member 1 are automatically withdrawn one at a time from the open end of the tubular member sliding freely over polished rod 15 and the shanks of the hooks sliding freely between the polished sides of slot 11.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated to cover by the appended claim any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. For example it is considered to be within the scope of the invention to fill that portion of the tubular member between the end of slot 11 and closed end 3 with a material such as Styrofoam or expanded polystyrene to insure that the controller will float in water.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A trotline controller comprising: a tubular member having a longitudinal slot therein extending from one end to a point adjacent the other end thereof, a plug member removably located in the unslotted end of said tubular member forming a temporary closure thereof, and a resilient rod extending lengthwise within said tubular member and projecting from the slotted end thereof, said rod having on one end portion a return bend of slightly larger width than the inner diameter of said tubular member, said return bend being adapted to frictionally engage the inner surface of said tubular member retaining said rod therein, said rod also having an angulation therein located at a point one-third of the length of said rod from said return bend, the angulation in said rod forming an angle varying four to five degrees toward the inner surface of said tubular member opposite said slot as measured from a line projected through the apex of said angulation parallel to the center-line of said tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,555,397 Coward June 5, 1951 2,633,661 Stevens Apr. 7, 1953 2,804,716 Adkison Sept. 3, 1957 

